The reasons
that I would like to see a total overhaul of Ofsted stem both from personal
experience and the accounts that I read and hear from others concerning
inconsistent and unfair reports.
For a
number of years I worked in schools as support for the visually impaired. One
school in particular that I went to had been given a glowing report, but turned
out to be the worst school I’ve ever set foot in. Behaviour was appalling,
morale was low (teachers and students) and lessons were not taught with any
energy or enthusiasm.
A few years
ago my son’s school was put into special measures by Ofsted, despite it being a
high achieving establishment with a sense of pride and belonging. When I
challenged Ofsted they admitted they had marked the school down on teaching and
behaviour purely for it to score low enough to be put into these measures.
Their main gripe was financial management, but as the school had no bursar or
finance department, perhaps all that needed to happen was to agree to instigate
one or the other. For some reason their agenda included getting rid of the
(great, to my mind) head, by promising him that if he resigned other posts
would be safe. As soon as he was clear of the school all the governors were
dismissed and certain teaching staff ‘disappeared’ overnight. So much for
making that deal good.
More
recently there have been some other appalling, and quite sad, stories in the
news about popular schools that have been condemned by Ofsted to the
incredulity of staff, parents and pupils alike. Think Durham Free School,
Bisham Primary School and The Ilfracombe Academy, to name a few.
Appeals and
complaints directed at Ofsted themselves cut no mustard and The Department of
Education seem to think that it’s nothing to do with them. So it’s down to us –
the parents, teachers and students – to make enough noise to force an
independent review of the situation.
It would
appear that Ofsted don’t always work to the agenda that you would expect. Are
some schools merely condemned just so they can be controlled by some of the
dubious trusts that exist? To quote the Green Party, “Ofsted has become a
political tool, as schools put into special measures can be fast-tracked to
Academy status”. This is just one point of view, but I personally believe
Ofsted have a different motive than is first apparent.
What
reforms do there need to be? Well, here are a few ideas for starters.
- Change
the existing forms designed for parents to complete, from tick boxes to forms
that allow free and full comment.
- Include parents
in the inspections themselves, holding a discussion session that can be
attended by all those who would like to have their say.
- Ensure
that all Ofsted teams are made up of a fair mix of inspectors from different
backgrounds, beliefs, ages etc
- Ensure
that all relevant data and comments are considered during the inspection, to
include press (good and bad), parental complaints, evidence of community
involvement, details of particularly difficulties that the school has had to
overcome and so on.
- If a
school genuinely falls down on a particular category, assistance should be
provided to overcome that particular issue, rather than dismiss the head/close
the school/put the school in special measures when there is often a solution
available.
If there are
ideas that you would like to see added to this list, please leave a comment on
this blog, or tweet me @blogsbyjoy
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